Civilizations in decline: Ottomans, Egypt, and China
Western Dominance and the Decline of Civilizations
pg 593-604
  • Ottoman crisis- Weak political and social order governed by an even weak sultan causeing power strugles
  • Competition between elites. Ex: Provincial officals
  • Artistan work depleted from competition of imports from Europe= urbanization riots
  • Merchants undermine industries within the empire to Westearn manufacture
  • Lack of resourcese to imporve military and protyect empire from invading Europeans
  • Loss pf territory through war and independence

Reform and Survival
  • Fear between kept reighn of Ottomans by either the British of Russia keeps Ottomans survival to the 20th century
  • Reforms create tensiton upon elite
  • Sultan Selim III- belife of dorder inituitives to keep dynasty alive by adding reforms in navy/military and administratives cost him his thrown by Janissary revolt of 1807
  • Muhammad- sucess were Selim could not by aild of Europeans. Slaughtered Janisary gorups and alllies
  • Tanzimat reforms (1839-1876)
  • Complete Westernization in not only political form but schools such as in science and math to the technology of press and telograph systems
-legal reforms (1876) creating constitution
  • economicaly the ottomans rose steadily
  • Effected by Western refoms were artisitans due to removal of imports on trade and internal competition
-Also Women positions were debated by Ottoman intellecs- However the popsition of wormen increased latter on

Repression and Revolt
  • New elites clash with conservative power groups such as Ulman and Ayan
  • Abdui Hamid sultan tried to return to desposits absolutism against Westernization control and nulified the constitution and restricted civil liberties. However some ideas were kept such as military and rail road to Baghdad
  • End despotism in 1908 bring the Otoman Society for Union Progress In Paris 1889 professingf loyalty to Otoman regime by polital and intellectual leaders
  • Young turks try to come into position to save the continuios fall of the Ottoman regime. However they could not set past there turkish ways
Western Intrusions and the Crisis in Arab Islamic Heartlands

  • Ottoman falls leaves Arab Heartlands at risk of European powers

Muhamad Ali and the Failure of Westernization in Egypt
  • Napolean invasion (1798) and clash with British arms to defen Mamluk regime in egypt
  • Muslim core vulnerable to European agression
  • Muhamad Ali rises as Ruler ater french (Napolean) withdrawl
  • Brought up to date European style military and Western style conscription among Peasantry
  • Territorial expansion leaves Egypt open to Europe powers
  • After his death a succession of rulers called kehdives (1867) took over until 1952 of Abdul Nasser
Bankruptcy, European intervention, and stratagies of resitance
  • Peasants go hungry
  • Egypt dependant on single export of cotton
  • Wasted findings to Egypt campaigns to assert authority and extravagant past times of elite
  • Debt to Europeans
  • Suez canal (1869) transformed Egypt into most stratagixed place on earth (connection of medeteraninan to red sea)
-Vital commercial and military link between Europe and colonial powers in Asia and East Africa

  • Muslim intellect thinkers such as Afghani and his disciple Muhammad Abduh stresed need for muslims to barrow scientific learnings and tech from West in order to innovate
  • British intervention began domains without administrative
Jihad and the Madist Revolt
  • Egyptian try to gain rule in Sudan (1820's) but were resisted
  • Egyptian authourity concentrated in river towns such as Khar town- Center of Egyptian administrations in Sudan
  • By 1870's Egyptian oppression and British intervention brought resentment and hostility
  • Muhamad Achmad known as decent of Muhammad and Mahdi (deliver)
-his jihad (followers) proclaimed against Egyptian hericits and British infidels
  • Violent purge of Islam
  • Use of guerrillas tactics
  • After his death successor= Khalifa Abudallahi
  • Division between Islamic communities increased.

  1. General patterns associated with decline of civilizations
  2. Internal and External weaknesses
  3. Ex. pre ndustrial era: slow communication systems.
-Ethnic regional and religious differennces
  • self serving coruption
  • Sense of pleasure corupts elites and political foundations
  • Military increase

The Last Dynasty: The rise and Full of Quing Empire in China


MI: Manchu nomads conqure China by incorporating Confucian ideas within the system
  • Manchu nomads conquest of China was unexpected
  • Nurhaci brought unity within the tribes and combined the cavalry of each tribe to form a military elite of banner armies bringing Manchu under his control
  • Manchu adapts Chinese ways
  • The declining Ming dynasty left room for conquer of China the armies force submission by nomadic people to the wast bringing Quing Dynasty
  • retained examination on system
  • In cooperated their Confucian ideas within the system

Economy and Society in the Early Centuries of Quing rule

MI: Manchu rulers focus on alleviating of rural distress and expansion brings less taxes and increasing silver

  • Preserving of Chinese society and political system
  • Women- confined to house hold
- due to the marriges at all social leveles forcing the son to take over the daughters home creates sex discrimination to begin for more sons instead of daughters

  • Alleviating of rural distress and unrest and unrest from post Ming rule
-taxes and state demands lowered
-Imperial budget used for repairs
  • open land settled wit h power of landlords for growing population
  • landlords over power creating gap between rural gentry and ordinary peasants and laborers
  • Commercial and urban expansion increase (silver)
-profits from oversees trade give rise to wealthy new group of merchants (comparders)

Riot from within: Bureaucratic Breakdown and social Disintegration

MI: Cheating within exam systems and bribes bring unfit ruler within political systems without concern for peasant class
  • Decline
  • Exam systems riddled with cheating and favoritism
  • Anyone with money could by a post for their sons within the system (government)
  • less concern was seen for the effects of bureaucratic discussions of peasantry and urban labors
  • failing of funds in military and work projects
  • most effected- Shenders pennisura with wiped out land due to unffinished dikes
  • food shortages
  • land lord demands push migration

Barbarians at southern Gates: The Opium war and After

  • European powers underesitmated by Manchu
  • British form Opium, which was growing in the hills of eastern India
  • on the eve of Opium war nearly 40,000 chests were imported by Chinese
  • opium trade threat to economy and social order
  • Lin Zeux sent out to stamp out trade issued a block aid and destroyed chests wich enranged the Europeans who began looking for compensation
  • When Lin created an anti Opium compaighn, war broke out in 1830
  • No match for British ships and forced China to open trade with diplomatic exchange

Civilizations at risk of Rebellion and failed reforms

MI: With the Manchu underestimating European powers Europeans were able to slip their way in through trade of opium corrupting Chinese political system and war

  • Loss in Opium war brings crisis to Quing empire and Chinese civilizations
  • Taiping Rebellion to west led by Hong Xiuquan
-Created an army of all genders
-Captured territary in South central china froming Nanjing capital
-Inner quarling within army
-The ban of opium and Hong Christian teachings allianted Europeans
  • Tapping reform aided in social, reform, land redistributian, and liberation of wormen
-attacked Confucian elite
-Attack of scholar gentry cheif source of power led to their defeat
  • Reforms to corrupt bureacracy and Chinese economy- Selfish- streanghening movement
-Encouraged Western Investment
-Modernized armies
  • Manchu rulers resisted for reaching reforms which were only hope to regime
  • Next power behind thrown Cixi (empress)
- Blocked reforms
  • Manchus left to rely on divisions among officials and Europen powers to maintain control

Fall of Quing: The end of a Civilization

MI: Loss of Opium war brings crisis to Quing empire and Chineses Civilization. Opressed reforms were taken through out years of sucession
  • Resistance to Quing by secret societies
  • Scholar gentry and merchant in port cities join secret societies against regime in hopes of defeating Manchu and passing power to Western educated reformist leaders
  • Fought relife for social class
  • Hositle middle class to imperialist powers in Chinese affairs
-cut off of ponytails to join uprising
  • Manchu's abdicate by 1912 the least emperor Pugi
  • End of examination system
  • Form of Civil Bureacracy